Bathtime!
by Centaurrius
Summary: Raenef doesn't like baths. They're evil, he thinks-- and it doesn't help him any when Eclipse tries to get him to take one. NOT RxE, or yaoi. Sorry.


--Normally, I'm for the yaoi thing. Even tried writing some, once; but RaenefxEclipse just BOTHERS me to no limit, so I feel compelled to state, before we begin:

IT'S NOT YAOI, IT'S NOT YAOI, **IT'S NOT YAOI!!! **The end is more of a father-son moment, not a lover's fight.

--So there.

-----

"But, Eclipse! I don't wanna!"

"You have to, Master Raenef—you promised me yesterday you would, and somehow, you managed to escape me then. Now, come—it's not that bad at all, and it'll all be over in a matter of minutes." Eclipse took Raenef by the upper arm and proceeded to drag him around another corner.

"But… it's so… useless!! I'm only going to get dirty again tomorrow!"

"You HAVE to take a bath NOW, Master Raenef! You can't be a proper Demon Lord if you're not fit like one ought to be—and that means getting clean, whether you like it or not!" Eclipse pushed a fussy Raenef around another corner and down the hall. Only a few more turns and they would reach the bathroom; then, there would be not resistance left.

Raenef didn't see it that way; to him, every second brought new escape plans, new ways to get free of his horrible fate. Raenef hated baths, if you couldn't tell; he was never sure why, but bathtime had always been a source of great displeasure for the little demon. Back when he was with his gang, bathing wasn't too much of an issue; here, with a strict advisor like Eclipse, remaining clean seemed to be very important. Not that Raenef saw it that way. He thought Eclipse was somewhat mental.

"Pleeeeeease, Eclipse?! Erutis promised she'd play with me in the garden later! And Chris wanted to show me his new demon-banishing charm after that…"

Ignoring the fact that Chris was working on banishing charms for demons, and that he was planning to "show" them to Raenef later, Eclipse's incessant pushing only intensified. Only a few more doors now…

Raenef's mind was working a mile a minute. How could he get out of this one?! How could he escape the unspeakable horror that was bathtime as he knew it?! Then it hit him…

DUH—he was a demon lord! How could he have been so stupid as to not just VANISH…?!

Silently invisioning the inside of the dungeon, one place Eclipse would never thin to look, he whispered "Go." Nothing happened. "_Go…_" he tried again, a little more urgently this time. Still, nothing. He was getting desperate. He could see the door to the bathroom now, could imagine that horrid white-marble torture device, probably full to the brim with terrifying white bubbles and comfortably warm water. Oh, GOD, THE BUBBLES!! "GO! Go, go go go go go go go go go go go…!!"

"It won't work, Master Raenef," Eclipse said, still pulling forcefully, but now with an air of triumph. "As you are still young and inexperienced demon lord I have taken the liberty of blocking your ability to go anywhere with your mind alone. A simple process, really, but you are now, until I say, not allowed to vanish from my grasp unexpectedly." He sounded quite pleased. Which didn't help Raenef in the least. He sulked, once again dreaming up any plans that would get him out of this mess, once and for all. But Eclipse seemed to have thought of everything…

They came to the bathroom door. Opening it a crack, Eclipse pushed Raenef inside and behind the changing stall. "I'll be waiting RIGHT HERE once you get out. I won't have you trying to escape again…"

True to his word, Eclipse sat right down on the stool next to the stall and crossed his arms. He might have passed for a statue, were he not breathing.

Feeling a bit like giving into his fate, Raenef pulled the first layer of clothing off of his body. It had been cold out that morning, and Eclipse had seen to it that he'd dressed in layers; or, Raenef now wondered, was it to ensure that he'd have a hard time of it escaping when he was finally forced to take a bath…? The latter seemed more likely, now that he thought about how carefully Eclipse had thought of everything to keep him to his duties.

But there is ONE thing he was sure even Eclipse hadn't yet considered… buwahahaha…

Bare now save for a towel he'd wrapped around himself, (I'm not ENTIRELY perverted, you know…) Raenef stepped out from behind the dressing stall. Glimpsing the water in all its horrificness, he shuddered, despite the warm steam rising from it. "Ready?"

Raenef sighed. "Yes, I suppose."

"Good." Taking him by the hand, Eclipse led him over to the edge of the tub. Which, now that Raenef studied it closely enough, resembled not a bathtub like he'd seen in his old hometown, but rather that of a swimming pool made to _look_ like a bathtub. It was huge; _yes. Just big enough to DROWN in,_ he thought disdainfully. "In you g—"

Before Eclipse could finish, Raenef had dove behind him—and pushed him in with full force, making sure he got good and wet. In fact, you couldn't see much after he entered the water, except the few loose strands of hair that had escaped the grip of his ponytail. He resurfaced moments later, coughing up bubbles and sputtering. "MASTER RAENEF!!"

Raenef, who had been laughing like a madman up to now, suddenly stopped. Lowering his dry face to the soaking Eclipses, he said, "How dare YOU raise your voice to ME, vermin?"

Eclipse paused. Then with one hand, he reached up and pulled Raenef into the water with him, holding his head under for a second out of spite. It was his turn to laugh as Raenef too resurfaced, soaking and sputtering. Wiping soapy water from his face, he choked on his next word, "ECLIPSE?!"

"Heh. Only returning the favor." He brought his hand up and splashed a tidal wave of bubbles and scented water into Raenef's unknowing face. While Raenef was once again preoccupied, wiping water out of his eyes, Eclipse grabbed up the nearest scrubbrush. With both their clothes still on (mostly), and with as much dignity as a head advisor to a young demon lord now soaked to the marrow in bathwater could muster, Eclipse grabbed Raenef's arm and started scrubbing the top of his head forcefully.

Raenef sat there, sulking. It would seem, for a time, he could chalk up a victory to the unspeakable evils of the bathtub, and its minion Eclipse.


End file.
